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Over 100 New Coronavirus Cases Among USC Students As Outbreak Worsens

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Another 100-plus USC students have been diagnosed with the coronavirus this week.

A total of 104 new cases have been recorded over the past four days, USC Student Health Services officials reported Thursday, the vast majority of whom live off campus.

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A cyclist wearing a facemask rides her bike at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, California on August 25, 2020 where coronavirus cases have seen an alarming increase with more than 100 students in quarantine from cases originating in off-campus housing. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)

This is in addition to 43 off-campus cases which were confirmed on Monday.

On Wednesday, the school reported that three students living in on-campus housing had tested positive, marking the first on-campus cases of COVID-19. USC also confirmed Wednesday that it had halted workouts for football and men's water polo after eight student-athletes tested positive.

Of the 104 new cases, 73 were among students who were tested because they were showing symptoms or were exposed to someone with COVID-19. Another 31 had no symptoms, but were identified through general student-population testing.

The 104 cases include the student-athletes.

A study group and a Monopoly game were among the sources of the outbreak, USC Chief Health Officer Dr. Sarah Van Orman said Thursday.

Small gatherings of students in off-campus housing are primarily responsible for the spread.

"It just seems like there's a lot of small group gatherings among people outside of their households, and it's spreading that way," Dr. Kimberly Tilley, USC Student Health co-medical director, told CBSLA Monday.

(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)

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